Soulscape. Discover your soul

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I’ve been finding that Encinitas is a great place to “discover your soul.”  Lots of pretty beaches and many places to meditate after a long day at the office. I’d been looking for one of those Himalayan salt lamps for quite a while and lucky me– I found one at a shop called Soulscape in Encinitas.

About these salt lamps: Himalayan Salt Lamps use a low-wattage light bulb to disburse negative ions emanating from the salt crystals. Place a Himalayan Salt Lamp in your bedroom to help clear sinuses during the night when the body is most relaxed and receptive and to help  intensify your sleep experience.  Install  one in the room where you relax — family room, living room, den–to freshen  the air and make time at home more pleasurable. Enjoy  reduced fatigue–especially during that 3 p.m. slump–by putting a Himalayan  Salt Lamp to work in your office. You’ll transform the air you breath and reduce the amount of electro-magnetic pollution you absorb from office equipment.

Yeah– I love my new salt lamp! I have it near my desk/sleeping area so it also kinda doubles as a “night-light” (bear in mind that I live in a studio apartment).  I can’t confirm that my salt lamp has made me any healthier but it has a nice glow in the evenings especially now with the days getting shorter– and oh by the way– I’m one of the few people I know who hasn’t gotten the summer cold being passed around at my office recently.  Shine on Himalayan Salt Lamp!

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Grounded- one of my favorite stops in Encinitas

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Hello Friends. Hope everyone got a great start to the week. One day down, four to go until Friday (did I really just say that?).  Just wanted to share one of my favorite shops in Encinitas. I love Grounded for the pretty displays and welcoming atmosphere. Last year I got my sister a tin spinny thing for her garden– you know, one of those things that kinda looks like a pin wheel?

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This past weekend I visited the shop and found colorful patio stuff and the bright lunch box pictured above. What a fun way to make lunch from home exciting! If I remember right this was priced in the $21 range.

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More displays– obviously I couldn’t stop myself from taking pictures. If you want to see for yourself:

  • Grounded
  • 897S. Coast Highway #105
  • Encinitas, CA  92024
  • Phone: (760)230-1563
  • Web: www.shopgrounded.com

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Flip Flops: Made for Transit Thru History

Happy Flip-Flop Friday everyone! Flip flops are a $2 Billion per year industry in the United States. You’d be hard pressed to walk down any street in America and not see at least one person sporting a pair of flip-flops.

Flip flops have been around for at least six thousand years. As a point of comparison, primitive shoes are shown in rock paintings dating from the late Paleolithic (Stone Age) period some 15,000 years ago. There are depictions of flip-flops in ancient Egyptian murals on tombs and temples from about 4,000 B.C. Styles too varied with the differing placement of the toe strap, as subsequent civilizations preferred using different toes. The Greeks for example made use of the big toe; the Romans, the second toe; and the Mesopotamians, the third toe.

Flip flops are a type of open-toed footwear typically worn in casual situations, such as outside or at the beach. They consist of a flat sole held loosely on the foot by a Y-shaped strap that passes between the first and second toes and around either side of the foot.  Thong sandals have been worn for thousands of years, dating back to pictures of them in Egyptian murals from 4,000 B.C. These early versions of flip-flops were made from a wide variety of materials including rawhide, wood, papyrus and palm leaves to name a few.  The modern flip-flop became popular in the United States as soldiers returning from World War II brought Japanese zōri with them. They quickly became popular because of convenience and comfort, and were popular in beach-themed stores and as summer shoes. During the 1960s, flip-flops became associated with the beachy lifestyle of California. They were promoted as an accessory, typically worn with shorts or swimwear. Beginning in 1962, the Brazilian company, Alpargatas, marketed a version of flip-flops known as Havaianas. These quickly become some of the most popular in the world: By 2010, more than 150 million pairs were produced every year.

Personally, I love my Havaianas!  They are the perfect “shoe” to throw on when I run down to get the mail or pop out the door for errands on a busy weekend.

Cheers– and happy Flip Flop Friday!!

Wordless Wednesday – September 12

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From Trash to Treasure… to my living room…

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Look what I found sitting in the alley recently– this cute table!  I really felt like it had potential to become a “treasure” and couldn’t resist the urge to rescue it. Plus, I found a recipe for chalk paint and wanted to try that out. And what better way to experiment than with a free piece of furniture salvaged from the trash, right?  As you can see, my little table needed some rehab–it was nothing some sandpaper and a bit of paint couldn’t fix.

I started my project by hand-sanding the table. About 15 minutes into it I was really wishing I would have busted out the power sander (as you can imagine).  All things considered, the sanding part was pretty easy- it’s a small table.  I’d been doing a lot of research on chalk paint and wanted to try it out to see what all the hype was about. Price-wise the “real thing” is a shade on the expensive side so I decided to make my own version. Here is the recipe I used:

Chalk Paint

  • 1/2 cup hot water
  • 1/2 cup plaster of paris
  • 1 1/2 cups satin latex paint

Combine hot water and plaster of paris. Whisk. Add to satin latex paint. Mix well.

I bought my paint at Lowe’s– I got a small-sized sample container of paint for approximately $2.50.  This paint was easy to mix up and extremely user-friendly. It coated the table well– in this case I used 2 coats of paint. Luckily it dries fast so I was able to finish the project all at once.  I had some leftover paint mixture and was pleased to find out that you can save it in an airtight container and it works just fine the next day (I saved some for touch ups).

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I distressed the edges slightly with sandpaper and I’m still thinking about putting small tiles or maybe glass on top.  I’d also like to put a sealant over it to prevent watermarks and protect the wood.  Considering this is a piece of furniture that I “rescued” from the trash it turned out pretty cute.  Part of me wants to sell this and part of me wants to keep it…..  any offers out there??!

Cheers!

Right now I’m using this as a side table by the sofa to catch my overflow of magazines and books and computers. It’s a great place to rest my ipad.

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Wordless Wednesday – August 29

Moat surrounding a castle in Sweden

It’s all about Fab.com!!

When I went home for lunch today I had a wonderful surprise waiting for me– my shipment arrived from Fab.com.  What a nice way to start the week….

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Check out the fun Birdy Blue design.  I’m not usually a big fan of “birds” but thiswispy scarf was too cute to pass up!

This should look good with a light sweater once the weather cools off.  This was my first order from Fab.com so I wasn’t sure what to expect.  My order arrived within 8 days of placement– I was originally quoted 14 days for delivery– always better to under promise and over-deliver I suppose.  As far as quality is concerned– I just ordered a scarf and you really can’t mess up something that simple. Would I order from this site again– YES!

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By the way, I loved the “thx” card enclosed with my order. Even though it was stamped out with a generic pre-worded message– a nice thought nonetheless.  A company can’t really go wrong thanking customers!  Cheers and Happy Monday everyone….

….until next time….   -jody-

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Happy Flip Flop Friday!

Wedding flip-flops? It never occurred to me these words could fit together in a sentence.  Maybe I’ve been wrong all this time….  read on….

Tonite I googled “flip-flops” to see what came up- you know, to inspire me to find something slightly interesting to write about for Flip Flop Friday. Then I saw the wedding flip-flops thing and just had to check it out. Really… flip-flops on your wedding day? Well, why not??!   (I found some really cute choice!)

Why bother with high heels? Havaianas, please…..

Some great websites to check out:  Etsy, wrapwithus.com; Bridalflipflops.com; Nordstrom; Macy’s… I could go on….

Happy Flip Flop Friday!  Cheers!

$7 Jeans–yessss!!

What could be better than a pair of fantastic $7 jeans? Maybe the good karma of knowing that I am “re-purposing” a perfectly good pair of jeans?? One less item in the landfill, right?

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And I thought $9 jeans were a bargain!  Imagine my delight when I found the 30% off rack at My Sister’s Closet in San Diego’s UTC neighborhood and found a pair of jeans that fit.  (I hate buying jeans and usually end up trying on 30+ pair before I find something that I even remotely like– then there is the issue of me getting home and trying them on again and instantly regretting the purchase…. back to the store….)

Good news here I actually LIKE these jeans! There’s still a slight chance I will make them into shorties– stay tuned…

Happy Shopping everyone. And remember to stay “green” and reduce, re-use, recycle whenever you can.  Thrift shopping is a perfect way to accomplish all three.  Cheers!

Wordless Wednesday – August 22

View of the beach near Del Mar, CA
View of the beach near Del Mar, CA